A Short Walkabout

Sunny days shouldn't be wasted. Come take a walk!

Just across the street

I'd lament the demise of this great little building, but since the shipyard was festooned with Dino Rossi posters not so long ago, I content myself with muttering about Republican Infrastucture.

The bridge over the Hoquiam River.


The riverfront walkway flowering plum trees in bloom.

Low Tide: things you don't usually see.



Stay Out! This means you!

The footing of the old bridge now serves as a pedestal for this glass boat.

Even during low tide, I don't see how someone got out there to hang this sign: "Mother Nature is Awesome!"

Barge? Car Ferry?

The best damned burgers in town: Al's Humdinger, since 1974.

Department of Book Reports: Gods Gachupines and Gringos: A People's History of Mexico, part 2

I want to talk a little more about this book, because I feel it is an important one. Timely, with all the hysteria surrounding "illegal immigrants" and Border Patrol Mitiltias. A better understanding of Mexico would go a long ways in today's climate. Dano told you about the book last week, and now I'd like to tell you a bit about the publisher.

Editorial Mazatlan has been publishing a popular language for tourists volume sold in Mexico, and this year brought out Gods, Gachupines and Gringos. This isn't a self-published book, but it's getting treated like one. Ingram, the national wholesaler here wants to distribute it through their "Lightening Source" print-on-demand service, even though that will give people a cheap, X-roxed quality volume, rather than distributing the higher quality volumes that Mazatlan already has bound and in their warehouse. That means the book isn't available at local bookstores as we reported last week.

You could help get this book into bookstores by bringing it to the attention of your favorite bookseller, and pointing them at Editorial Mazatlan's website. David will offer his kind help and generous (& freight free!) discount to the trade. Honestly, I haven't seen this kind of support to bookstores since... oh wait... I haven't ever seen it before. If you do tell your local bookstore about the book, please promise to buy it from them and then do so, on a timely basis. Nothing will piss off a bookstore more than a spam campaign of special orders that don't get picked up. The book sits on the shelf and the book buyer will glare at it daily, resenting being tricked. The book will languish for a couple months and then be bitterly returned, never to have seen the sunshine of the new release table. And that's not what we want here, people.

Any clicks you can make on teh googles will be appreciated, to keep this bookreport up at the top of the listings. That will give booksellers & customers enough info to find it for themselves. If you choose to buy it from us, Richard will fulfill the order from the Albuquerque warehouse so it'll be on it's way to you quickly.

I'd like you to see what other folks have to say about Gods, Gachupines and Gringos here and here and here. The book has plenty of acclaim, just not distribution. Let's change that.

cross posted from the General's, of course!